This invention relates to a method and apparatus for terminating optical fibres.
In methods of terminating optical fibres of glass and like relatively hard materials, the fibre is threaded through a ferrule, and the fibre is cut at a point adjacent the ferrule. The ferrule may serve, for example as part of a connector assembly for mechanically connecting and optically coupling the terminated fibre with another similarly terminated fibre, or as part of a transmitter or receiver assembly for mechanically connecting and optically coupling the terminated fibre with a light emitting or receiving device. In any case, to obtain sufficient optical coupling with the fibre, the end of the fibre must at least be clean, smooth and substantially flat. Accordingly, it is common practice to grind and polish the fibre-end after cutting.
In the case of optical fibres of polymer material, the material is frequently too soft to be successfully ground and polished. Moreover, even in the case of optical fibres of glass and like relatively hard materials, the grinding and polishing process can degrade the optical transmission properties of the end of the fibre. Thus, particles of foreign material, for example particles of metal ground away from the end of the ferrule or like member supporting the fibre, can become embedded in the end of the fibre and the grinding and polishing process can often cause stresses and distortion in the molecular structure of the material immediately below the polished surface. Accordingly, even though a surface which has been polished optically flat might have excellent reflection characteristics, it may not necessarily have good transmission characteristics.